Blood Brothers
by LostAFewBets
Summary: On the eve of disaster Lance discovers the truth. Alone he goes to his leader, the man the onset of a breakdown, and tells him, "I promise you we'll get through this alright. You're family. You won't be abandoned."
1. Chapter 1

The moment he woke up he desperately wished he hadn't. He was acutely aware of every part of his body in a way that felt unnatural. He felt every strand of hair move at the faintest breeze. He felt his blood, one continuous stream, crawling through his veins with every pump of his heart. Worse still every bit of him felt life it was on fire.

He struggled to think, to remember how he ended up like this. He tried to sit up and was greeted with the sensation of hundreds of burning pins piercing outward from beneath his muscles. It was too much. He fell back against whatever he laid on and let out a cry of pain.

At the sound of his voice, muffled and distorted through all the pain as it was, he realized there were others beyond his own. He couldn't make sense of the words but felt the emotions all the same. Anger fear and anxiety washed over his body from the vibrations of the arguing. And then he felt something else. A new voice so soothing it fought against the burning, if only just a little.

It seemed familiar. He wanted to see them, to put a face to the voice. But his eyelids never felt so heavy as then, barely opening a sliver. What little light that sneaked through seemed brighter than any star he had seen. Without any real choice he kept his eyes closed, stayed still, and resigned himself to his fate.

He tried to focus on that calming voice and the small comfort it gave him. It made him envision himself in a pool of water, ripples easing away the burning. The other voices remained, softer now and the emotions behind them had changed. More and more they became attuned with the soothing voice until they carried the same thing.

Hope.

Two of them shifted closer to him; one placing their right hand on his chest and the other started to murmur a chant. The hand over his heart felt heavier than the Earth but as the chanting went on it lighten into something more comforting. It sparked a flame to life in his mind, dancing just above the water. The pain had dulled and the burning gave way to the flame. Its warmth radiated safety and strength. Fire and Water danced in tandem and lured him to sleep.

* * *

This was supposed to be done the week after Season 5 dropped. Then life spiraled out of control and this grew bigger than it was supposed to be trying to fill in the spots between the important scenes. Gonna take my time on this, like I haven't already, and find someone who knows how to grammar good.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance was beginning to lose feeling in his right foot from all the tapping it had been doing. He couldn't help but fidget; there was nothing for him to do. The healer, Hys, said the magic would work best if he was in the room with them. He wanted to ask why but the thought of distracting her and prolonging his friend's suffering kept him quiet and accepting that magic was, well magic.

Not that there was much for him to do elsewhere on the shuttle. He managed to convince the small band of pirates and their princess to help him out with his friend but he doubted he'd get much else. A little of this for a little of that only worked when you had something to give. So Lance had to contend with the boredom of not doing anything besides simply being in the same room for fear of impeding his friend's recovery.

Speaking of which, he needed a new name. A copy of Takashi Shirogane could not be called Shiro when the original was back. Not without reminding him of everything he couldn't have anymore. Lance thought back to that alternate reality and its counterpart to Shiro. Sven would be a good enough nickname for now; better than "you" and "he" when addressing him.

 _Better for him to figure out a final name himself,_ thought Lance.

There was a tapping noise from behind and Lance turned around to see one of the crew members standing in the doorway. He was a tall man of brown eyes and red curly hair. He looked remarkably human. He motioned for Lance to meet him outside. Lance turned to Hys as a gesture of protest but she already facing him. She looked him in the eye, nodded, and returned her attention to Sven. And so Lance stepped outside.

"You're going to be questioned. Be respectful answer truthfully and we'll get through things smoothly," said the man.

Lance nodded and followed the man to what seemed to be an old fashioned communications room. The woman from earlier was there standing next to a monitor. She held the same stern expression she had planetside.

"Step outside and guard the door, Garrett." She said. Without a word the older man bowed and did as he was told. "Sit." She pointed at the chair in front of the monitor.

The screen came to life in a flash of color and buzzing noise. In view was a man in armor.

"Your name?" He asked.

"Lance."

"The name of your companion?"

"…Sven."

"What have you asked of us, Lance?"

"So um, Sven got poisoned while on that planet, Aoitori I think it was called. I'm asking if you can cure him of that."

"And what have you offered in exchange?"

"Whatever you want. As long as Sven is saved, I don't care."

"What were you doing on Aoitori?"

"We, um, had a dispute with our last team. We parted ways, I guess."

"What team were you a part of?"

"I won't say." said Lance after a moment.

They fell into silence after that. Lance felt both of them stare intensely at him. He wondered for moment if they already knew and were gauging his honestly. He was a famous actor after all.

 _No_ , Lance thought. _Better to take the chance to avoid involving the team._

If these pirates already knew who they were they could be used as leverage regardless if Lance told them or not.

"Do you believe the Galra to be the only scum in creation?" the man asked.

Lance couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. _What could they piece together with an answer to that?_

"I know of more." said Lance. "Some of my own people even."

"You realize, despite how you worded it, what you asked for was life. Your Sven's life."

"I, uh… I guess that's one way of looking at it. Does that matter?" said Lance in a small voice.

"Exchanges should be equal in measure." said the woman. "Material for material. Blood for blood."

Lance's eyes darted between the two of them than glanced to the side. He looked back at the man.

"You want me to save someone."

"Life for life, yes. We'll save your Sven if you help save one of ours." said the man.

Lance only nodded.

"Good. We will speak again in a more secure location." The monitor shut off with a buzz.

"Garrett will escort you back." said the woman, turning to leave. She paused at the door. "The shuttle will experience a series of rumblings. Do not be alarmed. It is routine." She walked away, Garrett bowing lightly as she passed by.

Back in the small healing room not much changed. Hys was still deep in concentration and Sven's breath was still badly labored. He took his old seat and twiddled his thumbs. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes when the whole began to shake. The trembling wasn't too violent and was brief.

As the shuttle stabilized Hys let out a sigh and wiped sweat from her forehead. "We'll be arriving soon. I'll see to it that your friend gets one of the better rooms."

"Thank you, Ms. Hys. I couldn't have saved Sven without you."

She gave a warm smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Think nothing of it, young one. Though his fight has yet to finish, and yours to even start, I sense your shared strength will pull you both through. Lean into your bond and," Hys paused. She stared at the door and took in a long and deep breath.

"Look into your heart and see if you can not judge them too harshly. Difficult lives lead to difficult choices. It does weigh on them no matter how deep they bury it."

Before Lance could ask her what she meant, the door opened and a group of six entered. They wore mix-and-matched armor and stood at attention.

"We shall be your guide during your stay with us, Lance." said the tallest one. "You have a meeting in just a bit. Would you like to go straight away and wait or prefer to freshen up first?"

Lance took a moment to think. He hadn't washed since this whole mess started. The thought of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on his skin made him shake involuntarily.

"Sure. I could go for a quick shower. Lead the way."

Stepping outside the shuttle Lance noticed they were docked in what looked more like a cave than an actual hanger. Off to the side another group was looking over the ship he… borrowed from the Castle of Lions.

The walk to their showers was long and quiet. Instead of a small stall Lance found himself inside a large room with a pool taking up most of the floor space. The pool gave off some fading warmth and the scent of sage. The wall across from them was lined with what look like shower heads.

One of his guards exited through a doorway in the corner only to return with a small basket.

"Here are some fresh clothes while your own are cleaned," said the tallest. "You may leave your clothes in the basket."

"What, no privacy?" said Lance after it became clear none were leaving.

Some tilted their heads others glanced at each other and one even had the audacity to giggle! It stopped and they were at attention when the tallest of them stomped his right foot. He made a motion with his right hand and the others left through each exit. The man himself stayed.

 _This is as good as it gets, I suppose._ Lance thought.

With a sigh Lance took off his clothes, starting with his shirt. He was brisk, choosing a shower over bathing in the pool and was washed, dried, and dressed in under ten minutes. Even if he couldn't do his skincare routine it felt good to be clean again. He hoped his good mood continued after his head to head.

The other five returned and led him away. He was brought to a plain room with a desk and some chairs to wait. It wasn't long before a man in a simple tunic and purple mantle arrived. From the way the guards dropped to their knees Lance figured it was the man he talked to earlier

"Hello again, Lance." The man offered his hand. "My name is Avok. Welcome to our base of operations."

"Thanks. Homely place." said Lance.

He shook Avok's hand and sat when motioned to. He was handed a folder and in it were papers detailing an alien species. The profile picture depicted it as vaguely humanoid. Short, wide, and muscular its face looked squashed and green skin looked so coarse it made him want to cry.

"Orsimer are a crude and vulgar collection of half-wits with a penchant for violence. They've achieved space travel somehow; pillaged no doubt. We engage only absolutely necessary. It's often not our choice. Not long ago they managed to kidnap one of our own."

Avok handed him another profile, this one was of a young child. He and the kid shared the same shade of auburn hair and golden slit eyes. "Once you have been rested you will evaluated, fitted, and placed where you can best contribute to his safe return."

"Well I'm a pretty good sharpshooter and decent enough pilot if that helps," said Lance. "Not so good with tech and other sciencey stuff."

"We'll see soon enough, Lance. For now you are our guest. Relax as best you can. Any questions before we part?"

Lance was tempted to ask what would happen if were to happen to the kid. Anything unfortunate and out of his control. Then he thought back to how he had first met these people and how hard it was to get that woman to agree to help, even with Hys' backing.

Lance shook his head.

With that done Avok nodded and left the room. Lance got up and followed his guides down some halls. As they walked the seemingly natural stone flooring gave way to familiar metal tiling. They were only a few minutes away from their sleeping quarters however when Lance groaned and felt like slapping his head.

"Hey, I forgot to ask," Lance said to the tallest. "Is it ok if I sleep in the same room as my pal? I'm fine just a chair, if even that."

Without hesitation, "No, but you're free to spend as much free time with him as like tomorrow."

"Should have guess as much" Lance thought.

His room was exactly what he thought it'd be. Military barracks, utilitarian and barren, save for some light personalization of a few of the beds. Aside from one, that giggling jerk from earlier, his assigned guards readied themselves for sleep and took to their beds. He was bunking with them it seemed.

Lance walked up to one of the unoccupied beds and asked, "Ok to use this one?"

Giggles lifted their head from the book they were reading to see then gave Lance the thumbs up and returned to reading.

Content it didn't belong to anyone else Lance crawled into bed and shut his eyes. Life was never easy but the past few hours were something else. And it was only going to get harder. His head felt strained thinking of all the ways he could have handled the situation differently. How he could have avoided working for favors in the hopes these people were good on their word. He could have chosen his words better, said something sooner, talk to someone else. Maybe he could have just waited for Keith to chill. But was done couldn't be taken back. He'd made his bed and now he had to sleep in it.


End file.
